In a later post I will consider how this season has gone compared to recent Wenger seasons, but as we all know we already have four more points than we had at the end last year.

As for how it will all pan out in this game, the manager said in the pre-match briefings, “We know it’s going to be a difficult match with long balls, second actions and set-pieces, so we need to defend well in these situations.” So yes, he has done his homework.

The fact is that Burnley held Manchester City on their own ground for an hour in the game last month, so their style of play can be effective, and our players might be feeling this is an irrelevant game – although we really don’t want to risk having to play in the qualifiers of the Europa next season (which will happen if we come 6th, Watford win the FA Cup and we lose in the final).

However if Burnley have been reading all the propaganda about Arsenal being hopeless and soft with Mustafi being an accident prone idiot, then they might go on all out attack, and that could indeed be our chance. I guess much depends on whether anyone from Arsenal will be sent off as happened against Leicester.

However the head to head doesn’t look too bad of late…

Date

Game

Res

Score

Competition

06 Mar 2010

Arsenal v Burnley

W

3-1

Premier League

01 Nov 2014

Arsenal v Burnley

W

3-0

Premier League

11 Apr 2015

Burnley v Arsenal

W

0-1

Premier League

30 Jan 2016

Arsenal v Burnley

W

2-1

FA Cup

02 Oct 2016

Burnley v Arsenal

W

0-1

Premier League

22 Jan 2017

Arsenal v Burnley

W

2-1

Premier League

26 Nov 2017

Burnley v Arsenal

W

0-1

Premier League

06 May 2018

Arsenal v Burnley

W

5-0

Premier League

22 Dec 2018

Arsenal v Burnley

W

3-1

Premier League

Burnley’s last victory actually came back in 1974. And here’s a final few snips before we get to the teams…

First off Arsenal have finished the last seven Premier League seasons with a victory. The last time we lost on the last day was in 2005 – against Birmingham.

Also we haven’t gone five league games without a win since 2009, when we had a run of five draws in a row.

But here’s the worst bit of news: the last time we finished below the Tiny Totts three times in a row was the terrible nine year run between 1959/60 and 1967/68. Our league positions in those desperate times were 13th, 11th, 10th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 7th, 9th. In 1968/69 we came fourth and the Tinies slipped to 6th. Mind you, one year later they were back on top coming 11th, to our 12th. By 1974/5 however they were down to 19th, missing relegation by one point. And then they did achieve that in 1976/77 by coming bottom of the league. Just thought you might like to know.

And in case you want some more bad news, the most goals we have ever conceded in a PL campaign is 51. One goal let in at Burnley will equal that. Two more will make it the worst defence since 1983/4 which had 60 goals conceded in 42 games.

As for the team here is the Guardian’s take… notice that this time we have 11 players rather than the ten predicted elsewhere for the last match…

Leno

Lichsteiner Mustafi Sokratis Monreal

Guendouzi Xhaka

Mkhitaryan Ozil Iwobi

Aubameyang

The ref is Mike Dean and the doubtful through injury players are listed as Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles although the BBC have Maitland-Niles as fit again. And indeed Football.co.uk has this line up, and yes again they have managed to find 11 players including the rapidly rising MN all fully recovered…

Leno;

Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal;

Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Torreira, Kolasinac;

Ozil, Mkhitaryan;

Aubameyang

So there we are – last game of the league season. One more to go after this. Funny how those giants of English football, Manchester City and Manchester United are not in a Euro final this year.

could’tn we change the stats of those matches to all lost? Maybe in another parallel universe or so? I hate those stats of never having lost since….. This year we seem determined to break all those stats ….

Another medja outlet, the only possibility of Arsenal coming 4th, is if Everton beat the spuds by many, many, many goals. Arsenal will be lucky to score a single goal and hope to win 0-1. Must bash Arsenal on every opportunity.

Obvious improvements to be made if we want CL football (via the PL) but given the money that will (or wont as the case may be) be made available Emery will have to be very shrewd.

Lets hope he’s up to the task.

PS: Just listen (BBC) to the love-in for Pochetino and compare it to the bile that was aimed at Wenger despite 3 FA Cups and all those top 4 finishes, and this includes our own Martin Keown, one of those that constantly critisised Wenger.

Yes they’ve done well and reached the CL final BUT as of this moment they’ve won f*** all.

The difference in the way Poch is percieved without even winning anything and the way Wenger was treated despite winning trophies (which after all was what it was all about lest we forget) and setting a record of consecutive top 4 finishes, is shameful.

NO MONEY !!!

WTF, for years we was told it has nothing to do with money and it is no excuse.

Hmmmm. How that seems to of changed when it comes to spurs.

Oh well, given how happy I am with how our season is comming to a climax I shouldn’t let it bother me but it does because it’s just such a crock of shit.

I think the team had a fairly good season, and I hope for the Europa title.

Looking at the overall flavour of the standings (exceptions are present), the Top-6 has a positive goal difference and the Rest Of The Pack (ROTP) strives to get to 0 (Everton an exception at +8). The relegation line is at 35 points. If the Top-6 get stronger next season, the relegation line will probably move lower. Can some other team move over to the top group at some point? How? Nine points between the Top-6 and the ROTP, if the Top-6 get stronger will this gap grow?

I think the big difference between the Top-2 and the Next-4 was mostly driven by the PGMO. It seemed to be very difficult for any referee to call them for fouls or hand out cards. But the treatment data for those 2 teams doesn’t present them as Miss Goody Two Shoes. PGMO wants to have a say in who wins and who loses.

The average goals per game for the ROTP is about 1.165. For the Top-6, it is about 1.98.

A very tidy end to the season, but the regrets of the home losses and draws remain sticky and probably made us end fifth once again. Congratulations to Aubameyang and the entire team of players and coaches on the slight improvements over the 2017/18 season.

Unai could do well to start integrating our Young Guns into the first team more regularly, going forward, as he may not get much transfer funds to bring in ready made stars to strengthen the side. Now all attention shall turn to the match in Baku nearly 3 weeks from today. There will be no margin for errors, our boys just have to win the Europa to give us UCL matches again.

Goonersphere rejoice and be glad it wasn’t so disappointing after all.

We finished 1 point behind Spurs in the PL, and similar to Spurs reached the final of the European competition we were in.

Yet look at how differently Spurs are, and have been, portrayed all season.

Spurs have constantly been portrayed as a ‘great’ team with great players, and are a team that is doing very well.

Arsenal have constantly been portrayed as a ‘crap’ team with crap players, and are constantly on the verge of crisis.

The difference in the way we are portrayed in the media, often as not by our own ex players, is a joke.

If we win the EL and Spurs lose the CL have we had a better season than them? I would say yes. Ok it may not happen like that but come one game left of the season that’s how close we are as clubs, yet as I say above, we are perceived as miles inferior to them, which is simply not the case.

As jjgsol says, one penalty !!

Look, ok at the end of the day I think Spurs have been a better team than us this year, but only just, and they are having the best season they have had in 20 years and us a fairly average one.

WOO HOO , HOO ! A fine finish to the season. Very encouraging to see ManUre dropping points , and the Spuds still in inplosion mode. May it continue to the CL finals. I’m hoping that Liverpool beat then 5-0. What are the odds being offered there ?
Congrats to PEA for the shared Golden Boot.
Up the Gunners !

To be honest, the teams they had to beat were a cut above those we played and yet, call it sour grapes if you like, the extreme good fortune they enjoyed in the CL was by far more than we might havew experienced in a few seasons let alone in the course of a few games.

I dare say if we had got that penalty and been 2 points ahead they may have tried harder in theour recent games.

Nitram
As posters are picking points in the season , forget the penalty miss in the S##rs game how about there goal , four(4) players offside and a penalty given which that wonderful diver scored , not in the teams control when rules/laws are changed

The season is over and Arsenal has come 1 point short to make the UCL qualification next season through the League. However, this cannot be said to be a failure by Arsenal but a big success by them in the PL this season. This is because by their placing 5th in the table, the club has automatically qualified to the Europa League next season without having to first play in the qualifying games to reach the 1st round matches. And this alone on it’s own is a big achievement Arsenal have achieved this season which I bet some other PL club sides won’t mind to pay huge amount of money for it to get it.

We now have the Europa League Cup final in Baku to look forward to. And any Gunner and I who love Arsenal will want to see Arsenal beat Chelsea in the final on May 29th to lift the Cup to win a big European title for the club. And at the same time qualify to play in the UCL next season which the club owner – Stan Kroenke, has set as the target for Unai Emery, the Gunners boss to achieve for Arsenal this season.

Bulldog,
If you are going to reminisce about Arsenal v Burnley in the past, I cannot resist February 14 1948 (St Valentines Day). Mr and Mrs Nicky on Honeymoon attending
Highbury. Arsenal 3 Burnley 0 (Don Roper and 2 from Ronnie Rooke). We went on to win the Div 1 Championship. Burnley were lying 2nd at the time so it was a good win. 60,000 attendance with 20,000 outside trying to get in! 😎

Gary Neville, co-commentating on Sky today in the Man City game actually quoted during the game the PGMO line of 98% decisions correct, apparently accepting it as a fact. He is obviously a bigger idiot than I previously thought.

I remember him and Souness in the match build up to a United Arsenal match having a great laugh about how we could be bullied and making specific reference to that particular shameful refereeing performance.

As you say no wonder he loves them when they let you get away with what they did.

Arsenal are without doubt one of the Greatest teams that ever played the game. The proof is the fact that Arsenal have achieved top 4 & nothing less than top 6 with the most biased group of corrupt officiating selective visioned officials in sporting history.

Today Mane’s 2nd goal was off side. Auba was robbed of his penalty retake against spuds. Despite that Auba gets a share of the golden boot. The officiating selection has a system of corruption that beggars belief. Manchester City has been fortunate to beat the officiating toward the end of the season because there was a bias toward Liverpool.

The FA are the major creators of this bent organised corrupt monopoly caleed PGMOL. It is secret in its dealings to the point of being one of the most racist organisations in England. There is no transparency in its processes nor in its finances.

The Premier League continues to thrive with the money pouring in because of competition despite the corrupt officiating. Human error is more common an excuse for cheating by officials than in any other sport.

@ jjgsol – You mean that penalty where Vertonghen illegally ran into the box before Auba had even kicked the ball, getting there in time to deflect the rebound? Or the penalty Spurs were awarded seconds after being in a clear offside position?